Safe and Sound
by x deadlypastaaa
Summary: A songfic of Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft. Civil Wars. Oneshot, takes place during Ishval. Rated T for angst, angst, angst.


_Herro guys! First time writing Royai...but when I heard this song it just sounded perfect. A few of my own details are added in there, some teeny headcanons, but:_

 _ **The Fullmetal Alchemist franchise and its characters do not belong to me. Neither does the song Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars.**_

 _Enjoy._

 **-Safe and Sound-**

The bittersweet melody curled through the air, the delicate yet powerful notes streaming from the sweet strings like the tears down her face. A young girl held on to her violin, the notes reaching through the dark, hoping to fill the void of solitude that had made her grow up too fast.

It was a tune that once her mother had taught her, with golden hair soft as fading sunset as she gently took hold of her hands and taught her the notes that had come to haunt her, as they swirled towards closed doors, hopefully reaching the ears of the raven boy who was the only reason she dared hold on to hope.

He was too ambitious for his own good. He needed someone to look after him, lest he be crushed along with his dreams. How naive, she thought, but as hopeless as things were she gingerly accepted his vision. And silently, they made a promise to each other for as long as they lived.

After the music drew him in the first time, she taught it to him, pleasantly surprised to find he could carry a tune, young as he was.

The words meant nothing in those days, but they would need them in the darkest hour as they prayed for a miracle.

The sun never rose in those days. The sky stained crimson, matching their hands. Even in the darkness of night, small explosions of light danced behind closed eyelids with every gunshot, the final faces of everyone they so ruthlessly murdered burning into their vision.

It was so easy to never give a second thought on the battlefield- _just a snap of your fingers, a simple pull of the trigger_ -but it was never truly inevitable, it all caught up when you were alone in the dark, just you and your sins.

And in those moments, they held on to each other, lest they let go and wither away.

 _I remember tears streaming down your face when I said "I'll never let you go"_

 _When all those shadows almost killed your light_

 _I remember you said "Don't leave me here alone"_

 _But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

With every fatal bullet fired, with every spark summoned, they begged for an escape, driven to praying to someone they didn't believe in, pleading for just one child to be spared. Just one.

But their orders were shoot to kill. Anyone with those red eyes filled with horror was to be executed. What they didn't know was that later on, in the cramped space of a canvas tent, those same soldiers had eyes just as red as the crimson sky because of their tears, until they couldn't cry anymore. They didn't have to suffer half as much as the Ishvalans, but they were expected to live with this for as long as they lived.

Every sunset brought relief, that now they couldn't see the empty bodies in broad daylight, that the day was over, and perhaps the innocent were now up in the stars, in a better place than they could ever be. It meant survival, that they were one day closer to the end of this massacre, though not without the price paid. Every sunrise gave new hope, that one day they would wake up and there would be no gunshots ringing through the air, no piercing screams matching the ones they themselves kept inside.

In that darkness, that faint blue glow at dawn and dusk before the sky turned to blood again, it kept them going, knowing they were just alive. No matter how hard it was to live this life, they would not take it away, they had to live to tell the world a lesson that humanity would hopefully only learn once. That vision, the polar opposite of this living hell, was a speck of hope behind closed eyes, just one speck among those tortured red eyes that hopefully saw much more beautiful peace now, wherever they were.

 _Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound_

They were too dangerous for their own good. A machine of murder, a monster, everything but a hero. But only the sight of those soft brown eyes could convince him that he was human, that he wasn't a heartless, feral animal.

Because the intensity of what he felt for her, as chaotic as the battlefield, could only be felt by a human.

She protected him. And he needed that. She would promise to follow him to hell and back. And here they were, halfway through. If not for her then he wouldn't have made it this far.

Gone was the silent girl he met when he showed up at her door all those years ago. Though he longed so badly for those innocent days, obliviously learning the very thing that would make him a monster, he couldn't have been more glad to fight alongside her.

Believe it or not, soldiers needed comfort too. Silently, on secret meetings high above in her hawk's nest, they both mourned each and every life they took, as they quietly sang the song she had taught him all those years ago, voices choked with grief. It was only then, as he buried his face in her understanding embrace, as tears flowed in hopes of dousing the flames set in such a fury that was only directed at himself, that his resolve to change things strengthened all that much more. It was the only thing that would keep him sane as every snap of his fingers set everything ablaze in a futile attempt to burn away his sorrows along with their souls.

 _Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire_

 _The war outside our door is raging on_

 _Hold on to this lullaby, even when the music's gone, gone_

This war reshaped their lives, for better or for worse. But it also made them see each other in a different light. On the battlefield, amidst the serpents of flames entwining their prey, it was too easy to give in to temptation. To end his misery, with just one snap, and join his victims and get away from this hellish war. But under the blazing sun, the sight of her golden hair high above in her hawk's nest gave him comfort, that every time she searched for a target, she was no doubt searching for him too.

As the sun went down and the troops settled down for another sleepless night, they escaped, even for just a while. While the night would be plagued by nightmares, they chose to face their nightmares together-protected in the stronghold of the other's arms. And they vowed to see each other at the end of the day, as the bloodred sun crept upon the horizon.

 _Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_

 _You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound_

There were many times where it would all just be too much. Too easy to collapse and scream and never get up again. They made one promise to each other, to never, ever succumb to their sins. To live and tell the world the horrors committed upon these innocent people. But that was for later. Right now, just take it one step at a time. Every night was closer to tomorrow, a tomorrow of peace and silence. Every step brought them closer, and even for a few moments, they let themselves slip away from their sorrows and the heat of Ishval, and the heartache of the future.

 _Just close your eyes_

"I can't afford to lose you."

 _You'll be alright_

"Will you follow me?"

 _Come morning light_

"I'll follow you into hell."

 _You and I'll be safe and sound…_


End file.
